My dad was a semi-pro photographer, so I've been taking pictures for fifty years now, since I was a nipper.
With the arrival of digital, then flickr, then blurb, everyone can publish their best work, and hooray for that.
My approach to photography is simple - make your eye the lens. Crop as little as possible, photoshop as little as possible. Show what you see, never add in what wasn't there to begin with.
Then edit ruthlessly.
I hope you enjoy the results

Mike